In spring, depending on the snow conditions, a 10-km-long ski-run accessible to skilled skiers is marked on the glacier. It leads from the Diavolezza aerial tramway terminus to the Morteratsch inn and has an altitude difference of 1,100 m (3,600 ft). The RhBStation Morteratsch used to be situated directly at the ice front of the glacier. The ice front has receded over 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in the meantime, and cannot be seen from the station today.

Yearly length change measurements have been recorded since 1878. For the period to 1998, the overall retreat was over 1.8 km (1.1 mi) with a mean annual retreat rate of approximately 17.2 m (56 ft) per year. This long-term average has markedly increased in recent years, receding 30 m (98 ft) per year from 1999–2005. Substantial retreat was ongoing through 2006 as well.[1]

During the time that measurements have been taken, the glacier has advanced a few meters in only four years. Since the large glaciers react slowly to short-term climate changes, these advances cannot be accounted for by increased precipitation in the accumulation zone. On the high moraines to the left and right of the ice front, which are still nearly free of overgrowth, the enormous quantities of ice which were still being pushed down here at the end of the "Little Ice Age" in the middle of the 19th century can be seen.